I am a runner, and this summer my running routine experienced a new addition: pianos. Play Me, I'm Yours, an organization that places pianos in various places around large cities for anyone to play, had chosen Austin as the site of one of their temporary installations. Specifically, they had chosen the Lady Bird Johnson Lake Hike & Bike Trail.

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The first few days the pianos were there, the other runners and I just observed from afar—no one was really venturing to play them. Over the next few weeks, however, this would change. People were constantly sitting at the pianos whenever I ran past, and art began to accumulate on, or around, the instruments. Others would gather to watch people they didn't know play a song, and applaud their talent at the end.

This is why I think Austin needs to embrace its creativity. To me, the best public art isn't something people can just look at and admire, but it's something people can contribute to—a place where they can both give and take meaning. Austin is so intrinsically creative, and creativity lies within the person. These pianos offered a forum for people to express themselves musically and artistically, unleashing that creativity as something tangible. I chose this particular piano because it looked out onto the railroad bridge where large works of street art have been painted, one of which reads "Focus on One Point and Breathe."

When I run, my mind is very busy, but when I passed these pianos, and someone was playing them, I'd take out my ear buds, and listen for a moment, as I caught my breath. In that moment, I would step outside my thoughts, to listen to this person. These pianos served as a reminder that we all have something to offer, we just need an opportunity to do so.